Sir Patrick Stewart was celebrated around the world for playing Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek and Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men films. But away from the screen, the actor carried a personal regret that he spoke about openly in an interview three years before his death: his strained relationship with his two children.Stewart, who died on October 28 at the age of 86, had spoken about his distance from son Daniel and daughter Sophie in a 2023 interview with the Irish Independent. His candid remarks have resurfaced following his death, with Page Six reporting on the actor’s reflections on October 29.
5 Oct 2026 | 12:06
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Speaking about his relationship with his children from his first marriage to Sheila Falconer, Stewart described it as “practically non-existent”. He also admitted that his commitment to acting had come at the cost of spending time with his family when his children were growing up.
‘I always put my acting work first’
In the 2023 interview, Stewart was asked whether he had found it difficult to be the father he wanted to be when his children were young.He acknowledged that it had been difficult. The actor said he was now separated from his children and that they no longer had a relationship in the way he would have wanted.“I never thought that this would happen, but both my children are in their 50s – they’re not children anymore, they’re adults. And my relationship with them is practically non-existent,” he told the Irish Independent.Stewart did not hide how much the situation affected him. He said there was “not a day” when he was not pained by memories of his children, including who they had been when they were younger. He also reflected on his responsibility for the people they had become, acknowledging that his influence, or lack of it, had played a part.When asked why the relationship had reached that point, he gave a direct answer: “I always put my acting work first, before my family.”He also admitted that he could have done better as a parent when Daniel and Sophie were little. According to the actor, he had been so focused on his profession that everything else had taken second place.
He hoped to make up for lost time with his grandchildren
Although Stewart spoke about the distance between himself and his children with considerable sadness, he also said he was trying to approach family life differently with the younger generation.“I could’ve done better as a parent, when my kids were little. I was just obsessed with my work and everything else took second place,” he said in the interview, as reported by PEOPLE.He added that he was trying to correct that whenever possible with his grandchildren. Stewart also said that his children seemed to have forgiven him.The actor had four grandchildren through Daniel and Sophie. His son followed him into the acting profession, appearing in theatre productions and television projects. Sophie, meanwhile, largely stayed away from the public spotlight.
Stewart had once spoken warmly about being a father
His 2023 admission also offered a contrast to an earlier interview with PEOPLE in 2022, when Stewart spoke affectionately about becoming a father.He recalled enjoying the experience of holding Daniel when he was a baby. When Sophie was born, he said he took on much of the caregiving because Falconer was working as a dancer and appearing in musicals.“I took over the job of being mom and dad, and I loved it,” he told PEOPLE. “It was marvelous.”Stewart and Falconer married in 1966 and separated in 1990. He later married producer Wendy Neuss in 2000. Their marriage ended in 2003. In 2013, he married singer Sunny Ozell, with whom he remained until his death.
A life marked by professional success and personal regrets
Stewart’s reflections on fatherhood were part of a larger willingness to discuss difficult parts of his personal life, particularly while promoting his 2023 memoir, Making It So.In an interview with The Guardian in October 2023, he spoke about growing up in a home affected by domestic violence and the lasting impact of his father’s behaviour. He had previously kept much of his family history private, but said that years of therapy had helped him understand and discuss his childhood.The actor’s death was announced on October 29 by his longtime spokesperson, Kelly Bush Novak, who said he had died at his Los Angeles home on October 28. The statement said he had been living with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia and was surrounded by his wife, family and friends.For audiences, Stewart will remain closely associated with some of television and cinema’s most memorable characters. But his 2023 interview revealed a side of his life that fame and professional achievement could not resolve. He had spoken about his regret in his own words, acknowledging that the career he loved had sometimes taken him away from the people he wished he had been closer to.